Last Friday, I met up with Judy, a new friend who has recently moved to Korea from CA. She lives near Hongdae and so I was happy to trek to her neighborhood for an early lunch.

Really, I'll take any excuse to visit Hongdae- there are so many restaurants and cafes to try out and cool artsy things to see. :) In particular, I was dying to check out O Yori, a veg-friendly restaurant I recently learnt about that serves up fusion Asian dishes. And thankfully, Judy was on board~ I'm so glad I have friends who are willing to go veg-restaurant-hunting with me! *check website for map and directions

love the open kitchen

We were their first lunch customers for the day, and they were actually having a little promotional photoshoot going on when we walked in! Apparently, this restaurant has been getting a lot of good press, and as far as I can tell, all for good reason. I have to say, I was really impressed with this restaurant. Their dishes are diverse, pulling inspiration from cuisines all across Asia- Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, etc... awesome!

Here are a few of their veg options:

And I was extra happy to see that their menu identifies all the vegetarian dishes with a little green leaf icon! I honestly wanted to try every veg dish on their menu because it all looked seriously mouth-watering. In the end though, I settled on their 'Tofu Steak' (15,000 won).

Holy drool! This dish was amazingggg! I've never had tofu like this before. The tofu was fried after being coated in glutinous rice flour, which gave it this woooonderful crackly crust or 'skin'. It was a new, satisfying way to enjoy tofu. The mushrooms, lotus roots, and bell peppers on the side were also cooked to perfection, and the sweet yet savory sauce underneath just pulled everything together. You might not be able to tell by the photo, but I gotta say, it was a lot of tofu and I could only finish two of the three 'steaks,' but if my stomach were bigger, I would've finished them all, no problem. If you're not a tofu lover like myself, it might be a little tofu-overkill for you, but don't let that stop you from trying this dish. Just share it with someone- it's that yummy.

These are two pickled side dishes that came out with our food. Judy ordered their Thai-style seafood salad (not pictured), which she said was good but kinda oily. She liked my tofu steak too~!

Anyway, after that fantastic lunch, Judy had to rush off to work, so I wandered around Hongdae for a little bit before ending up at a teeny cafe called 'Lazy Mama's Pie.'

I didn't try any of their pies, since I doubt they were vegan, but I did enjoy their ice americano, peaceful ambiance, and free wifi.

Iced Americano with a tiny pot of syrup.

The easiest way to get to Lazy Mama's Pie Cafe, is to go to Sangsu Station, Exit 1. When you walk out the stairs, turn around and follow the road towards Hongdae University. Walk less than 5 minutes, and it will be on your right, immediately after a big Chinese restaurant.

What a great Friday! Every time I go to the Hongdae area, I'm reminded why it's one of my fave places in Seoul.